Vermilion In August 1924

With a new month upon us, that means it is time to look back and see what was happening in the community exactly 100 years ago this month.

On Aug. 6, the Vermilion Agricultural Society held its fair and it was agreed that it was the biggest and best fair the organization had ever put on. H.A. Craig, the deputy minister of agriculture, was on hand and stated he was surprised by the strong showing made in every line presented. R.G. Reid, the provincial secretary and future premier of Alberta was also a visitor and stated he was surprised by the splendid event.

On Aug. 7, a massive storm hit Vermilion, dumping a massive amount of rain on the community, soaking the ground and ruining several crops with hail.

That same day, a large group of ex-students of the Vermilion School of Agriculture, and invited guests, were on hand for a dinner served at the Brunswick Hotel. About 100 invitations went out for the affair.

On Aug. 14, Vermilion welcomed Sir Henry Thornton, the president of the Canadian National Railways to the community. He was only going to be in town briefly, but there was planned to be a brief reception at the train station with an address from Mayor Morrison.

On Aug. 15, the GWVA held its annual meeting and elected D. Taylor as its honorary president and T. Watts as the sitting president.

On Aug. 18, the Vermilion Creamery shipped out five train cars loaded with butter. It was another example of how much the community was prospering. The butter came from the P. Burns and Company creamery, which was heading to the Vancouver Creamery Company. The company had only recently moved to its new brick premises in town.

That same day, F.S. Wright, editor of the Good Roads Magazine, was in town to inspect the proposed tourists’ camping ground at the golf course. He considered it to be an ideal location for a campground.

On Aug. 25, Grain harvesting began in the Vermilion district. It was hoped that the harvest would be a good one, considering dry weather and storms that had hit through the spring and summer.

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